During the 2013 National Nutrition Month, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics encourages us to develop a healthy eating plan centered on personal health concerns and “Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day.” Healthful eating doesn’t mean giving up your favorite foods! It means tailoring a healthful eating plan to match your lifestyle, preferences, and tastes.
Food Choices
Lifestyles, traditions, and food preferences all impact individual food choices. It is important to remember that all foods can fit into a healthy diet; the key is portion control and moderation.
Temptations
While there are several differences in eating, having enough time for planning and food preparation is a common problem in today’s 24/7 culture. Despite our best efforts to make more healthful food choices, we are being bombarded with tempting food ads and having far too many “easy” choices at supermarkets and restaurants. These temptations make many of us struggle to make wise, food-related decisions.
Eat Right
Are you juggling several schedules? Try planning meals a week at a time. Let children decide which fruits and vegetables they might like to eat during the week and have them help pick them out at the grocery store. Children are more likely to eat healthful food when involved in planning and preparation. Being included also teaches them valuable cooking skills as well. Try to offer something from all of the food groups at each meal.
Utilize Your Resources
With food prices rising and food packages getting smaller, eating “your way” may include eating well on a budget. Cooking at home is healthy; it can help save your food dollars. Try growing your vegetables (if you have the room) or buying fruits and vegetables from farmers’ markets when they are in season; fresh is always best!
Small Changes, Big Wins
Drinking more water is one way to improve your health and save money. Water helps regulate body temperature, transport nutrients, and oxygen to cells, and carry away waste products. Paying for soda, energy drinks, and other beverages can be expensive. Also, mix the juice yourself. 100% juice from frozen concentrate is often less expensive per serving than pre-bottled juice.
Make Time for Breakfast
An important aspect of eating right means eating breakfast every day. Breakfast eaters are likelier to get all the important nutrients they need daily. Don’t have time? Try a quick breakfast of peanut butter in a whole wheat pita pocket with a banana or granola in yogurt with an apple. These foods give your body the energy boost and nutrition it needs to start the day.
Your Way
No, that doesn’t translate as “whatever you please.” There are sensible guidelines to follow. If you are trying to keep your calories low and nutritional values high, processed foods won’t do. No one food must be eaten for good nutrition.
One good tool to use as a guide to good eating is the MyPlate illustration. USDA’s MyPlate icon is an easy-to-understand visual cue to help consumers adopt healthy eating habits within the 2010 Dietary Guidelines. You can find information and tips for good eating at www.choosemyplate.gov.
Every Day
This term reflects the long-term commitment to eating well. “Every day” is the right mindset for staying healthy, and it shouldn’t mean monotony, eating the same things without variation. Mix things up, but every day, have a plan.
Minimize Sometimes Foods
Enjoy one free meal a week. One indulgence every seven days won’t ruin good work. Rather, it can satisfy cravings for those “must-have” foods. And it’s easier to keep your indulgences modest when they are planned. Avoid improvisation by laying out an eating plan the day before. No, a misstep will not ruin weeks of good work, but you want to minimize unforced errors.
Ingrain Healthy Habits
A diet for life is built step by step. People who change their eating habits for good break down their challenges into manageable units that build confidence and keep momentum measurable. Once new habits are ingrained through repetition, your nutritional awareness will be as natural as breathing.
Enjoyable Activities
Some enjoyable activities include cooking a “My Plate” meal, trying a new food or recipe, planning an activity to get moving, making a small change in your diet, setting a nutrition or physical activity goal for the month, or turning a favorite recipe into a healthy item.
Get Creative
Get creative with your leftover fruits and vegetables. For example, make salsa from your tomatoes and smoothies from your fruits; this way, you can enjoy them every day but differently!
MyPlate, MyWins
A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and lean protein will surely get you started living a healthier life. You really can “Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day.” Happy Nutrition Month!
Written by Vicki Hayman, MS, University of Wyoming Extension Nutrition and Food Safety Educator
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